Last night, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump hosted the annual Congressional Ball at the White House. It marked another big occasion in a busy season of engagements and public appearances for the Trumps—many of which FLOTUS has been doing solo.
The Congressional Ball is a long-standing White House tradition, a time for lawmakers across the political parties to celebrate the holidays and look back on the year. In remarks at the event, the first lady also teased an upcoming project: “I hope you will be excited to support my new legislative initiative in 2026. Some of you already know about it, because it is already in the works.” While the president admitted he had “just heard about that for the first time,” he added: “I know one thing for sure: It is going to be great for children.”
For the festive evening, the first lady opted for a black velvet single-breasted blazer that nipped in sharply at the waist, with matching tailored cigarette-style trousers—both from Dolce Gabbana. Underneath, she wore a sheer, high-necked black embroidered blouse. Mrs. Trump wore her blonde highlighted hair in her signature waves with her bangs swept to the side, and pointed nude nails. At a charged political moment, her relatively sober look seemed intended to keep the focus on POTUS.
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It was much the same earlier in the week, when Mrs. Trump stood at the president’s side on the red carpet for the 48th annual Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday—the first time a sitting president has ever hosted the event. There, the first lady wore a sleeveless black wool gown from Givenchy’s fall 2025 collection with a modest round neck and column silhouette. Her choice of the French-owned label wasn’t arbitrary, either: LVMH—which owns Givenchy and another of FLOTUS’s favored brands, Dior—produced the honorees’ medallions.
Last week, Mrs. Trump embraced a similarly muted style to see Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli perform at the White House. Her silk black Valentino dress (it being an Italian label was surely no coincidence) featured billowing bell sleeves and a tulle-trimmed, scalloped high neck.
Mrs. Trump has often shown her appreciation for European designers, stepping out in Dior suits, Dolce Gabbana gowns, and Manolo Blahnik pumps. But in her second term as First Lady of the United States, she’s been more intentional about wearing homegrown American designers, too. And while those severe shoulders remain, there have also been softer and more quietly luxurious moments—signaling some level of awareness of the political and social tumult that has roiled the country this year.
Yet Mrs. Trump’s understated aesthetic of late has occasionally been lightened by nods to the holiday season. When she traveled to the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia for the Toys for Tots Charity Drive on December 8—arriving arm-in-arm with Santa Claus—she wore a winter-white Proenza Schouler peacoat with black jeans, black leather gloves, and stiletto ankle boots.
On December 5, when reading to child patients and their families at the Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., she opted for a sumptuous black Nour Hammour cowhair coat, cinched at the waist, with red Christian Louboutin Lizzy pumps. And to press the button to light up the National Christmas Tree the day before, on December 4, the first lady bundled up in a double-breasted ivory Chanel coat.
There are many, many layers to Melania Trump’s style and the way that she uses it—from the suite of American and European designs to the determinedly elegant silhouettes and color palettes. She knows it’s vital, in times of tension, to strike the appropriate note—and that includes during the festive season.
